The present disclosure relates generally to the field of wireless communication. More particularly, in one exemplary embodiment, methods and apparatus for reducing voice call drop rate are presented.
Cellular devices have expanded in complexity and utility over time; existing so-called “smartphones” can make phone calls, perform data transactions, record and playback multimedia, and perform a wide variety of other tasks. Many smartphones (such as the exemplary iPhone™ manufactured by the Assignee hereof) have access to thousands of different applications which can be downloaded by the user to personalize the smartphone capabilities and functionality.
Many software applications utilize so-called “background services”. Background services are software processes which are not under the direct control of an interactive user, but which instead manage ongoing tasks such as: responding to requests, fetching data, synchronizing data, managing hardware components, managing software processes, etc. Common examples of background services include without limitation: push services (i.e., the network “pushes” data to the device, or vice versa), pull services (i.e., the device “pulls” data from the network), location based services, mail exchange services, cloud synchronization services (i.e., the device synchronizes data to a network “cloud” of servers), etc.
Generally, users are not aware of background services; background services provide a seamless and enhanced user experience by offloading the minutiae of device management from the user.
However, background services can trigger periodic data activity on the phone (unbeknownst to the user). If the user is engaged in a voice call when a background service initiates a data transaction, then the device must change to a Multi-Radio Access Bearer (multi-RAB) operation.
As a brief aside, calls (such as for example voice-only calls) are typically circuit-switched (CS) services whereas data services are packet-switched (PS) services. Multi-RAB operation is required to support multiple simultaneous connections (such as a CS connection and a PS connection).
Unfortunately, empirical and anecdotal evidence suggests that multi-RAB operation is not as robust as normal operation; thus, changing from normal operation to multi-RAB operation during a call can increase the risk of dropping the ongoing call.